


Cordelia Abbott, Greek Hero

by creampuffqueen



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU where Jason is alive and he and Piper are happy, Demigods, Gen, Siblings, just let my babes be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19409890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creampuffqueen/pseuds/creampuffqueen
Summary: Cordelia Abbott has had a fairly normal life- until now. After a freaky demon cheerleader attack in fourth grade she now only refers to as "The Incident", she's been expelled from every school she's ever attended. Now, thirteen years old and in seventh grade, she's been trying to fly under the radar. That is until her best (and only) friend Drake comes to her house at midnight covered in blood and going on about strange and terrible things, things she doesn't even understand. But the weirdest part? He tells her that they need to leave, and go to New York. And her mom lets her go! On the run, thrust into a strange world of myths, gods, and monsters that she didn't even know existed, Cordelia is in for one wild ride. And along the way, will she finally discover her mysterious absent father, and the reason her mom never talked about him?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey this is my first PJO/HOO fic, I love all of Rick Riordan's books. This essentially takes place after TOA, we're pretending that everything is good now, JASON IS STILL ALIVE AND HE AND PIPER ARE TOGETHER, Percabeth has graduated and are now at college in New Rome, yeet. I hope you like this lol, I'm trying not to make it too cliche. Also I'm so sorry that this probably sucks

The fact that I didn't have a dad had never bothered me, not since I was little. I asked my mom about him once and got brushed off, so I learned that we just didn't talk about him. My friends didn't care, we were a band of misfits together. But all of that changed after The Incident. Ever since the fourth grade pep rally, I've never been able to stay in the same school for more than a year. I always got expelled...

I'd been with the same school since I was in kindergarten, and they'd put up with me. Teachers put up with my dyslexia, and my ADHD, and all the like. But after the pep rally, I must have pulled the final straw, because before I knew it I was out on my butt.

It all started when I asked my teacher, Mrs. Collins, if I could use the restroom before the rally. I wish she'd said no, because when I got to the bathroom there was a whole line of cheerleaders inside, applying makeup and fixing each others' hair. I tried to just creep by to one of the stalls. But whenever I try to fly under the radar, it just seems to make me more noticeable. 

"Oh my god Courtney, remember when we were that small?" Someone squealed, making my face grow hot. I continued to creep past, nudging the stall doors with a hand. All of them were locked, so I waited in the corner, staring at my sneakers. The laces were coming undone. When I bent down to tie them, trying to keep my dark hair from my face, the stall door I was standing next to swung open and caught me right in the jaw.

"Jeez Audrey, you have to be more careful around the kids." I heard someone say. But the weird thing was, it didn't sound like a teenage girl, not at all. The voice was rough and gravelly, but at the same time I thought I heard a hint of a braying in it. What the-

When I looked up, hand on my jaw, I came face to face with one of the most terrifying creatures I'd ever seen. It had the face of a girl, a really pretty girl. But her hair was flaming at the tips, no, her hair _was_ fire. Her smile was full of jagged teeth, and seeing that I let out a very undignified whimper and nearly wet my pants. I glanced at her legs for a split second, and saw that one leg was furry like an animal's, and the other was made of metal. 

"What are you?" I squeaked, trembling in my tennis shoes. "What are you doing here?"

"Darling Cordelia, I'm here for you, of course." Her voice was soothing now, making my muscles relax. When she stepped closer my knees gave out against my will and I collapsed on the bathroom floor. I was too scared to even be grossed out.

"How do you know my name?!" Screaming was painful, like my body was protesting my mind. "Who are you? Somebody help!"

The others in the restroom weren't paying me any attention, or even the demon lady who was taking over my body! They just kept working on their hair and makeup, like they couldn't even see us. I couldn't stop the tears that sprang forth. Why wasn't anybody helping?!

"Oh, darling, of course I know your name. I always like to get to know my food before it meets its end." I was trembling violently at her words, yet my legs wouldn't obey me, wouldn't get up and let me run. The demon cheerleader approached, toothy grin widening.

"Please-" My voice was cut off by a sudden explosion, and then a dozen screaming cheerleaders. The sink closest to me had exploded, drenching two girls and splashing water everywhere. The demon girl looked away in surprise, and a toilet exploded. 

With her distracted, I discovered that my legs worked again, and wasted no time in high-tailing it out of the restroom. As I skidded out the door, another sink exploded behind me, but I didn't dare turn back. I ran and ran, listening to the screaming and rushing water fade behind me.

Next thing I remember is sitting in the principal's office with my mother as the big lady went on and on about my trouble-making tendencies. 

"Expelled?" My mother wailed, "She didn't do anything! She's an innocent bystander, how could a ten-year-old possibly explode two sinks and a toilet in the, what, eight minutes she was gone?"

"That is what I would like to know, Ms. Abbott. Cordelia, how did you do it?"

"I didn't do it. I swear." I sniffled. "I just went in to use the bathroom, and all the cheerleaders were there, and one of them looked super weird and scary and she made me do all sorts of things, my legs weren't working-"

"Cordelia, quit the nonsense. I need to hear the truth, not some made up story from your imagination. Your education is on the line, and this is your last warning!" The principal's voice was loud and booming, making me shrink further in my seat. My mom's mouth was in a tight line of displeasure, but she said nothing.

"It is the truth. I promise. The cheerleader made me do it-"

"Cordelia, there were no cheerleaders here today. Today was a regular school day, and the pep rally isn't until next week." I nearly fell backwards in surprise.

"But the posters said-" I glanced at the posters advertising the rally, they all said October 8th last time I looked. But, there it was, the date. October 15th. The rally wasn't supposed to be for a week! But the posters had said today that morning! I was so confused.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Cordelia," The principal continued, "You're a nice girl, and I hope you can find a place that works better for you."

Mom surged up from her chair, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out in an angry huff. She stewed the whole ride home, hardly even answering my cries of 'I'm so sorry'. She went inside our little apartment and slammed the door behind her, before going into her bedroom and staying there.

I ate cereal for dinner and watched the rain fall outside. I didn't even have the heart to watch TV. I put my bowl in the sink and trudged to my bedroom. Our dog, Biscuit, was sleeping on the foot of my bed. She licked my face as I held her and cried.

That was the first time I got expelled.

In fifth grade, a huge dog broke into the gym. It was as tall as two people and too big to fit through the doors. It ignored everyone and lunged for me, and I barely had time to duck to avoid its huge, slobbering jaws before it bit me in half. I ran under the bleachers and hid, screaming for help as the huge dog desperately clawed at the seats trying to reach me. By some miracle I was able to sneak out of the side of the bleachers and run away, and the dog couldn't fit out the doors after me.

When the principal of the new school met with me and tried to find out what happened, he looked at me like I was crazy when I told my story. He didn't believe me, and said I was accused of breaking the bleachers and skipping class. He expelled me without any regrets.

Mom sent me to a private school in sixth grade, and promised me that if I could make it through a whole year without any incidents she would get me a puppy. I tried so hard, I really did. But my best is never enough.

At the end of the year, our science teacher was sick and we needed a substitute. An old lady subbed for her; she was so old her wrinkles looked like scales. I needed to go to the bathroom, I'd been holding it since second period and it was now fifth. Even though she'd let other kids go, the lady wouldn't let me budge.

I got angry, and I opened my mouth to yell at her, but the little old lady moved like lightning and got right next to me. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Her voice was so rough it sounded as if she was hissing. When I looked up to glare at her, her formerly unassuming eyes were bright yellow and her skin was green and scaly. And instead of legs, two thick snake trunks slithered along the floor.

At first I couldn't believe my eyes. I _had_ to have some sort of mental disorder, I kept seeing things! But then she lunged for me, and all thoughts were banished from my mind.

I scrambled under the desk while kids screamed, and I started to run for the exit. As I passed the counters, the sinks exploded in my wake, which just made everyone scream louder. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed the snake lady until she fell to the floor and exploded into a pile of yellow dust. Then I fainted.

Of course the headmaster didn't believe my story. Of course I got expelled again. It wasn't any different than before, except now I had a criminal record of assault and destruction of property. Mom said it was by the grace of God himself I didn't get put in juvie.

I guess mom felt bad for me, because she got me the puppy anyway. I named him Mustang. But even a new dog couldn't cheer me up. I'd failed again, and I just knew that no matter what I did, something would always go wrong. 

And so here I am. This is my story. The story of Cordelia Abbot, the big thirteen-year-old failure.


	2. Boy, that sure was weird

"Drake, do pigeons have feelings?" I stared at my sandwich as I methodically peeled the crusts off, sitting at a table with only one other person. Drake Rickets was my best, and only friend in my new school. After getting expelled from every school since I was ten, my record appeared to have followed me wherever I went, which meant nobody wanted to hang out with me. I went to a fancy private school now, with all of my mother's hopes resting on my shoulders. I wouldn't fail her this time.

Drake pulled me out of my thoughts that were slowly spiraling deeper with an answer to my dumb question. "Of course they do." I snapped my head up with a snort. 

"How can you be so sure. Do you speak to pigeons regularly or something?" My friend shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and pulled his grey hoodie further over his face. Though we all had a uniform to wear, Drake seemed to have an endless supply of hoodies on him, and was the only student who could successfully wear them without getting detention. It was infuriating, and he never shared his tricks of the trade.

"I don't talk with pigeons, that's crazy." His voice lacked conviction, and I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, I'm not interrogating you. It was just a joke, m'kay?" My friend nodded, though he bent down to fiddle with the laces on his dress shoes. I shrugged it off, as I always did. Drake was incredibly weird, but he was my only friend, and I supposed I was something of a weirdo myself. Not many people my age get to take medicine for schizophrenia! 

I finished taking the crusts off my sandwich, and I passed them over to Drake. My mom hated when I took my crusts off, because she said I was being wasteful. But it wasn't wasteful when someone else ate them, and Drake was the only person I knew that enjoyed crusts more than the actual sandwich. I took a bite out of my newly crust-less sandwich, letting the peanut butter get stuck to the roof of my mouth.

To my side, Drake shoveled his own lunch into his face with enough gusto that I wondered if my friend had chronic hunger issues. Honestly, Drake would eat anything. He refused to explain why, but I'd caught him nibbling on a myriad of strange things. Pencils and pens, sometimes erasers. Once I had seen him nervously chewing on a stress ball that he'd brought to school. 

I finished my sandwich and moved onto my carrot sticks, while Drake pulled out a binder from his backpack and started to work on one assignment or another. I moved closer so I could see what he was laboring over. 

"Cori, have you worked at all on the project for Mr. Reese's class?" 

"Don't remind me," I muttered. "I haven't even finished reading all the chapters yet. Words make my brain hurt."

"I can help you, if you want." Drake offered. 

I shrugged, and returned to my lunch. Mr. Reese's project wasn't due for five more days, and I could read all the assigned chapters and write a report by then. I was more concerned with the homework I had for Mrs. Carroll's class, which was due today, and I had only answered about three of the twenty questions. Her class was after lunch, so I was very likely screwed.

I finished my lunch quickly after that, and took after Drake and got out my homework. Math. I could do math. 

I chewed a bit on my pencil, not unlike my best friend, and tried to make sense of the words and numbers that seemed to swim across the page. I was able to focus for a couple minutes and make out one of the word problems and answer it, but before I could make any more progress, the bell rang.

I shoved the paper into my backpack and cleaned up all my trash. Maybe I could hide out in the bathroom to finish it, and just be late for class. Drake and I followed the crowd as everyone made their way from the cafeteria to their next class.

"I'm going to the restroom to finish my homework. Can you cover for me?" I begged. Drake glanced around nervously, but nobody was listening to us. Finally he nodded, and I rushed to the bathroom while he headed to math. 

I scrambled around in the stall, scribbling down answers and trying to frantically remember math facts. I was on the verge of tears with the last question, the words merging into each other and drifting around. I checked my watch- I'd already been in here for seven minutes. The bell had rung two minutes ago. If I hurried, Mrs. Carroll might not have taken attendance yet. With a sniffle, I put down a random answer and prayed I'd gotten it right. I was stuffing things back into my backpack, trying to control my breathing and tears, when a sudden _whirrrr_ noise got my attention.

The toilet had flushed itself, though it wasn't automatic. I decided I didn't have time to care about sentient toilets and instead ran out to my math class. 

\----

I'd failed my homework, but that I'd expected. At least I'd gotten partial credit for at least attempting some of the questions. I knew my face was red and blotchy, and I could feel the stares of the other students boring into my back. Mrs. Carroll had given up on me long ago, and said nothing as she collected my paper with a red '48' written very small in the top corner.

Drake sent me a sympathetic glance across the room, which I was grateful for. But it still did nothing to fix the fact that I'd been having a worse and worse time with my Dyslexia and ADHD lately, which was why I'd struggled so badly with the math problems. And why I'd probably fail my English report, and my science project, and my history presentation. The only class that seemed to make any sense at all was Latin, which was dumb, because I hated the class, and who spoke Latin anyway?

I realized I'd zoned out again, and all the other students had papers and pencils out. My teacher was staring me down over the rims of her glasses, and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. I gulped, and grabbed the first blank sheet of paper I could find. God, I needed to organize my backpack.

I tried to focus on the lesson, I really did; but with the swimming words and the way that Mrs. Carroll's voice could put someone with insomnia to sleep, I found my attentions drifting away and out of the class. 

"Cordelia, do you know how to solve this?" 

"I- what? Could you please repeat the question?" I jolted back to reality, with the eyes of the entire class focused solely on me. I wanted to disappear, or sink into my chair so nobody could ever see me again. 

"Ms. Abbott, please pay attention to the lesson." The teacher snapped. "You've been off in fairy-land since you walked in."

"Sorry," I said meekly, "I may have forgotten to take my medication this morning, I'm trying to pay attention, I swear-"

I was cut off by a sneer from behind me. "What kind of a freak needs medicine to pay attention." An answering snarky remark, "She already _is_ a freak."

"Hey!" I whipped around in my chair and stared down the two girls behind me. "Shut the hell up, Reagan, not all of us are neurotypical snowflakes like you and your cohorts."

"Abbott!" Mrs. Carroll yelped. "Headmaster's office, now!"

I decided I didn't care anymore, and strolled out of the class, flipping off the idiot Reagan as I did so. My teacher shrieked again, and I bolted. I actually did head in the direction of the Headmaster's office, because despite what everyone in class thought about me, I was still an obedient kid at heart. 

I was halfway across the school, still seething, when a sudden thought occurred to me. My mom was _not_ going to be happy about this.

\----

I was suspended for the rest of the week. I sulked in my seat as the Headmaster berated me for my 'foolish, distracting, and callous' actions. Of course I was the criminal, just for telling an idiot to shut up. Okay, maybe I overreacted; swearing and using rude gestures, but still. Why was it always me?

My mom came to pick me up, and she hadn't said a word since we'd walked out of the school. I sat in the backseat, arms wrapped around my body. Mom didn't have to say anything to make me feel ashamed of myself. She could be scary when she was angry, but I couldn't help but feel even more apprehensive at her silence.

The ride home was completely silent. I trudged up to the apartment behind Mom, who still wasn't talking. She pushed the door open, and we were both greeted by my very large mutt, Mustang. I stroked my dog's ears for a moment before walking in and shutting the door behind me. 

Mom didn't speak, didn't even look at me. She just went to her bedroom and closed the door. I put my backpack down with a sigh, and made my way into the kitchen. It was early, but it was still probably around time for me to feed the dogs. When she heard the sound of food being poured into her bowl, my other dog, Biscuit, scampered into the kitchen, already drooling. 

The dogs ate, and I found myself in my bedroom, staring out the window. _What had I done?_ This morning had been a normal day; or as regular as it could ever get for me. But here I was, about four hours later, suspended and being ignored by my mother. 

All my moping around was getting me nowhere, but I just couldn't pull myself away from the window. The skies that had been clear were becoming cloudier by the minute, a storm rolling in to match my mood. I was sure I was scowling, the kind that always made Drake super nervous. But I didn't care.

I was busy being angry and feeling sorry for myself, when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I shifted my gaze over to see what it was, and- what was that? 

No, not another one- I had to be seeing things. What looked like a stray dog scuffling around in the bushes one moment transformed into a giant beast in another. With a blink the dog was back. It turned, and suddenly it was a monster again. A stag-like body, and and a lion's head, and- 

It was just a dog. It had to just be a weird looking dog. I repeated this over and over in my head as I stared down at the thing. A dog, just a dog. I prayed to God it was just a dog, and I was being paranoid. I wondered if I should take more of my medicine, if I had even taken it that morning. Why was I so useless at remembering things?

The creature looked me dead in the eyes from down below in the streets, and my entire being was filled with dread. Right before my eyes it shifted back into a big dog. I couldn't take it anymore, I ran into the living room, terror fueling me.

Mustang and Biscuit were hiding under the couch, and Mustang was whimpering loudly. I grabbed a blanket and curled up on the floor with him, trying to calm my racing heart. I was just seeing things, I was crazy. I tried to calm the dogs, but that wasn't going to happen. A sudden howl sounded outside, and I squirmed closer to Mustang, burying my hands in his brown and white fur. The howl sounded like no dog I'd ever heard before, it sounded more monstrous and primitive. 

Biscuit cried softly and wiggled closer, and I snuggled her close to my body. Fear was coursing through me, and all my senses were being overloaded. My brain was in hyper-focus, I was sure of it, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hear the quiet thumping coming from down in the street. Or was that coming from the stairs?

The howl sounded again, and I let out a very undignified whimper. When had my visions gotten this bad? I hadn't had an episode like this since getting expelled from sixth grade. 

I finally mustered up the courage to move again, though I felt like every noise I made would alert the not-dog to my presence. It may have been down in the street, but I wasn't taking any chances. I scurried over to Mom's room, feeling like a little kid who'd just had a nightmare again. 

"Mom, there's this weird dog in the street, please let me in." I begged. "I think I'm seeing things, please-" I didn't finish my sentence, because the door flew open, and Mom pulled me inside. Her blonde hair was a mess, and her face was red and puffy, like she'd been crying. 

"Come here, baby." She said softly. "It's going to be okay." She let me on her bed, and she curled up beside me, stroking her fingers through my hair as though I was a child again. I pulled the covers tighter around myself, and let my mother hold me as I fell asleep.

The strange howls still followed me, even in my dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been forever since I've written anything for this, sorry lol. I've been in a huge writing slump with my other fic, so I thought updating this would help. I think it has, and hopefully I'll post more of this. Anyway, hope this didn't suck too much. I did do some research on ADHD, but not much, so if I did something incredibly wrong/offensive, please tell me. (Nicely, please, lol). Also, you don't need to tell me that Cori's heritage is obvious, because I know. That's not actually the main point of this story, so there. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
